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With the implementation of the EU’s data protection laws just around the corner, local entities need to study up on how it could affect them.

D-day for implementation of the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is just three months away – and South African organisations are by no means off the hook.

If you are a South African entity that handles individuals’ personal data, you will be acutely aware of our country’s data protection law – the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act – but have you considered how the looming GDPR affects the way you manage clients’ personal information?

The fact of the matter is, if you are a locally-based business that offers goods or services to EU customers, you also deal with personal information or data relating to EU citizens’ – and you are just as responsible for complying with the GDPR as any EU business.

Leon van der Merwe, head of digital at customer communication firm PBSA, points out that any entity controlling or processing data relating to EU citizens is affected by the GDPR. “Controlling refers to any organisation that states why and how data is processed, while a processor is any party doing the actual processing of the data, whether based in the EU, or not.”

GDPR vs POPI

Van der Merwe says it is crucially important for local companies with dealings abroad to do their homework and familiarise themselves with the GDPR’s ground rules. “Companies could be fined heavily under GDPR regulations if they fail to provide evidentiary and auditable processes, as well as adequate IT security, to protect personal data.”

The GDPR is a regulation borne out of the European Parliament, Council of the European Union and European Commission’s joint intent to strengthen and unify data protection EU citizens.

Non-compliance with the GDPR comes with a hefty fine of up to €20 million (about R290 million) – or 4% of annual sales.

Similar to SA’s POPI Act, the GDPR is all about data protection. Data includes things like a person’s name, email address and phone number, as well as information collected by website cookies like internet browsing habits.

Breaching rules laid out in the POPI Act comes with a R10 million fine and/or a jail sentence.

Van der Merwe summarises the parallels between the two data-protection directives: “POPI and GDPR are similar, in that they both aim to strengthen the protection of personal information. They differ in their approach, in that the GDPR takes a wider, more global perspective that includes anyone, anywhere either controlling or processing – or both – data relating to EU citizens.”

Auditable business processes

A big part of compliance, when it comes to both the POPI Act and the GDPR, specifically involves audit trails – something PBSA’s digital signature and workflow product, SignFlow, is heavily centred on.

For evidentiary purposes and in order for any company to assert GDPR compliance, the automated management of an audit trail is imperative.

Van der Merwe says SignFlow is can assist customers in their strategy to automate and digitise processes in a responsible and compliant manner. “Business Process Automation is at the forefront of our technology development at SignFlow, including tools like DocFlow, CaseFlow and our digital customer on-boarding tools.”

At the core of SignFlow, he says, is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). “PKI manages users’ private keys, and signs and secures documents using Public Key Cryptography. Not only does this make documents tamper-evident after they’ve been signed, but the entire operation is conducted in a secure network over encrypted secure socket layers between the public, personal devices and private servers.”

“The system enhances non-repudiation, creating a digital trail of undeniable events that prove intent and identity.”

With GDPR set to come into effect on 25 May 2018, and the high stakes attached to non-compliance, South African companies simply cannot afford not to take a global view on data protection. “The protection of personal information goes far beyond just the POPI Act for local companies dealing with international customers,” says van der Merwe.

Featured

An integration between two of pbDigital’s software platforms makes it possible for financial institutions to digitally onboard customers in record time.

A recent integration between SignFlow and pbVerify has created a platform for digitally onboarding customers that is about to change the way credit is granted –in terms of risk management, compliance and convenience.

Although pbVerify has offered digital onboarding – an advanced customer activation product designed for financial institutions – for some time, never has this tool been as powerful as it is now, with the incorporation of SignFlow digital signatures.

Digital onboarding was introduced specifically to A) improve the customer experience by making it easier for them to activate and use financial services products, and B) give financial institutions a more secure and scalable means of growing their business.

That said, it makes no sense for institutions and their customers to have to switch back to manual halfway through the digital process of onboarding, to finalise the process with signatures – the old way of doing things.

Since pbDigital is all about innovation, meet the new way of doing things…

Now, with pbVerify’s integration with SignFlow, you can say goodbye to the expensive and onerous manual methods associated with finalising the process of customer onboarding – printing of forms, signing by hand, scanning, uploading and emailing – and say hello to a new fast and fail-safe system that allows institutions to onboard customers entirely online, in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost.

No longer do red tape and geographical circumstances play a part in how long it takes to finalise the onboarding process. With SignFlow, it is simply a case of sending the completed online form to the designated signatory or signatories for approval – all via a secure, legal online platform. No more physical records, no more running around, no more waiting – and, most importantly, no more jeopardising of customer data.

Compliance & security

In today’s legal milieu, with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) of 2001 and the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act of 2013 binding businesses to stricter data protection criteria than ever before, there is no margin for mistake.

With pbVerify and SignFlow behind your onboarding process, FICA and POPI compliance concerns are a thing of the past.

These software platforms – now integrated into one seamless onboarding solution – offer financial institutions an efficient and guaranteed means of making sure business processes and IT systems comply with the law when dealing with customer data.

This is how our new onboarding solution works, in a nutshell:

Front-end: Customer Online App

The customer fills out pbVerify’s intelligent digital onboarding form (complete with auto-population and including Home Affairs/CIPC verification, as applicable).

Details of the designated signatory or signatories (approver/s) are entered.

The signatory/signatories are notified pbVerify has received a customer activation form, of which they are the listed party/parties responsible for sign-off.

The said party/parties follow the link provided, and sign the application form online using SignFlow.

The application process is complete.

Back-end: Admin/Credit Control

Once the customer has completed the application, admin/credit control will get notified of a pending application and can log in to the admin portal, in order to run the required credit and compliance checks.

The digitally-signed agreement/contract can be downloaded online for review and compliance validity confirmation.

If required, different checks can be generated such as CIPC, Bank Code Updates and Full Credit reports.

Once checks are done, the system can notify the relevant department of the application status and pending credit facility.

NOTE: All internal checks are scoped according to customer-specific scope and requirements. This is all customisable, according to business’ specific needs.

Welcome to the future of digital onboarding – an error-free, fast, secure way of procuring new customers.

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

pbVerify and SignFlow are products of pbDigital, a division of customer communications firm PBSA.

About pbDigital

pbDigital is the software division of PBSA, which specialises in a range of software products designed to help clients communicate more efficiently with their customers.

pbDigital’s software offerings can be classified according to the following categories:

Business process automation software with multi-channel output tools and workflow

About PBSA

With a rich history of innovation dating back over 90 years, PBSA (formerly Pitney Bowes SA) is a leading customer communications company, offering software, equipment and services to help companies improve operational efficiencies and connect with their customers in more meaningful ways.

Based in Midrand, Gauteng, PBSA understands both hardware and software solutions and is optimally positioned to provide a secure, committed support infrastructure to its Southern African customer base. The company’s solutions help companies engage customers, gain business insight, manage document workflow and ultimately optimise overall business performance.

PBSA believes innovation and growth go hand-in-hand with long-held ideals such as collaboration, integrity and accountability.

PBSA embraces the fast-changing world of technology, which today sets the tone for the business going forward. The company has transformed – and continues to transform – from a purely paper-based to an integrated digital business that serves the market through its own time-honoured patented technology and an extensive network of channel partners.

Everything the company does has one goal – to help its clients communicate more effectively with their customers.

Featured

With last month having marked the two-year birthday of one of pbVerify’s popular verification tools, we thought we’d issue a little reminder of what it is that makes account verification so valuable.

pbVerify’s Bank Account Verification service launched in October 2014, with the goal of helping businesses and individuals dodge the dreaded risk associated with making payments. Since then, hundreds of customers have signed up and reaped the benefits.

Primarily, the tool completely eliminates unnecessary risks in payment processes by enabling you to confirm the account you are paying money into, is in fact the account of the business or individual you intend crediting. Apart from this, it also offers a host of other benefits:

Easy to use – All you need is the account details, name and ID number of the individual, or the account details, business name and registration number of the business to be paid.

Definite data – pbVerify’s Bank Account Verification tool provides you with all the information you need to positively verify the account in question.

Account status – Our Bank Account Verification service allows you to determine the status of the account in question, i.e. whether it is currently active, open or closed and whether it has been open for more than three months.

Third parties – This service is also available to third-party integrators via an API (application programming interface).

pbVerify’s Bank Account Verification tool is of great value to both businesses and consumers. For credit providers and other businesses that require a means of verifying the validity of a consumer or business’ bank account before making a payout, granting credit or activating debit orders, it is absolutely vital.

And, if you need the tool as an integrated service on your web-form or application layer, you’re in luck – we also offer full integration with any web service or software system via our XML SOAP API.

Once you have registered – a completely online process that involves submitting a form, an OTP (one-time pin) and email link – your login details will be sent to you via email. You can then go to the login page and enter your details to securely log in to pbVerify.

pbVerify can verify ownership of accounts at the following participating banks:

ABSA (real time participant)

FNB (real time participant)

Standard Bank (real time participant)

Nedbank (real time participant)

Capitec Bank

Mercantile Bank

To verify an account owner, simply follow these guidelines:

Log in to pbVerify and select the By Product tab

Look under the Company Verification heading and select Bank Account Verification

Complete the fields and tick the T&C’s tick block

Click Search

In the left-hand column under the sub-heading “Bank Reports”, click on the Bank Account Verification tab.

Featured

PbVerify’s popular Deeds Search tool has been relaunched and is now more accurate and immediate than ever before.

The relaunch comes after the service had to be put on hold about two months ago, following modifications to the Deeds Office systems that required pbVerify to update certain regions and add new ones.

The Deeds Search tool has been greatly improved, now allowing for live lookups at the Deeds Office – something that was previously not possible. In the past, searches were not live and they were not updated monthly.

The new and improved version ensures absolutely no discrepancies come into play when clients perform the relevant searches. Because pbVerify’s Deed Searches now have direct links to the Deeds Office’s live database, clients are guaranteed the most up-to-date information available.

The pbVerify Deeds Search tool allows you to do the following searches:

Deeds Person Search

Deeds Company Search

Deeds ERF Search

Deeds Farm Search

Deeds Sectional Title

Deeds Document

1. Deeds Person Search

The Deeds Office Person Search provides online information from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform on property ownership on a natural or juristic person at any of the 10 Deeds Offices in South Africa.

Searches are performed by providing a name or identity (ID)/registration number. Searches are available for one or multiple Deeds Offices (with a search charge applicable for each selected Deeds Office). A batch search facility is also available and can be accessed from the Deeds Office Person Search input page.

A Deeds Person search will yield the following information:

Person information, which includes the natural or juristic registered name and ID or registration number (when available). It also includes the marital status of a natural person at the time of the property transaction.

Property information. All properties owned by the search subject will be displayed, including Deeds Office property description, LPI code (the unique Surveyor General code for the property, used mainly for mapping purposes), title deed number, microfilm reference, purchase price, sale date and registration date.

Contracts. Contracts registered at the Deeds Office are detailed and include antenuptial contracts, interdicts, and notarial bonds.

2. Deeds Company search

A Deeds Company search will return the following information:

Property information. The property information returned includes the complete Deeds Office description, LPI code, extent, diagram deed number and local authority.

Ownership details (individual and juristic with ID or registration number). These include the percentage of ownership for multiple owners. Also included are the title deed document number, purchase price, purchase date and registration date.

Several kinds of documents are registered at the Deeds Office, including title deeds, bond documents, antenuptial agreements and interdicts. Searching by document number at the appropriate Deeds Office will give you the details of that document and the option to request a document copy.

pbVerify’s new revamped Deeds Search tool is easy to use, accurate, fast and free to register for. You only pay per search and there are no monthly subscription fees or registration costs whatsoever.

As soon as you’ve signed up, you will be able to instantly search for any deeds information you may require through our user-friendly web interface.

Featured

The internet of things is here – and it is bigger than we could have imagined – is your business ready?

The internet of things (IoT) is undeniably one of this century’s biggest phenomena in terms of ubiquitous impact and, while the implications associated with this technological wave are varied, one of the most crucial – if not the most crucial of these – centres around security.

Type the words “IoT and…” into your Google search engine bar, and one of the first phrases that comes up in the dropdown menu is “IoT and security”, says Leon van der Merwe, head of digital at customer communications firm PBSA. Security is a huge concern for businesses when it comes to this emerging network of connected things. Even with the strides made in cultivating a secure internet, this vast entity is just not 100% secure.

By nature, he says, the internet is arguably impossible to fully secure – and is becoming considerably more complex as the human race starts connecting everyday hardware devices. “We are basically building an internet of any and everything.”

And, contrary to common belief, South Africa is not playing catch-up to such an extent that local businesses need not be concerned. The IoT may not be as mainstream in South Africa as it is in other, developed countries, but it is fast heading that way. Any business that even remotely values its security would be making a grave mistake by not heeding the red flags inherent in the IoT.

In fact, according to a recent International Data Corporation (IDC) report – The Internet of Things in Africa – the market for connected devices in the country will account for $2-billion of the global total value ($1,7-trillion) by 2020. As for the continent as a whole, the research firm says Africa is likely to house around one billion connected devices by the turn of the decade.

A 2015 survey revealed that 33% of South African enterprises are planning major and/or significant investment in IoT over the next three years.

Unprecedented power

We know the IoT is set to explode – globally and on our own doorstep – but we must also consider, when taking security measures, the immense power this thing denoting a connected future holds.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) designates the IoT part of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” – an era of technological advancement characterised by ubiquitous, mobile supercomputing. Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, says the possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are unlimited.

Given the enormous impact the IoT will have on businesses’ security, Van der Merwe believes local companies need to take security far more seriously. Many of the larger, security-conscious organisations take their security very seriously, but they don’t necessarily have the right strategies in place. When it comes to the so-called midstream businesses in South Africa, these generally have very poorly managed security policies, if any.

Access management

But where does one start when it comes to tackling this giant, looming phenomenon? At ground level, at one of the very core aspects of your connected devices – accessibility.

One of the products PBSA’s software arm, pbDigital, advocates is identity and access management (IAM). IAM outsources all require security requirements to run on the latest international identity and access management on one centralised solution.

Featured

Nigeria’s oil and agricultural producing state Delta State makes a major breakthrough in land title acquisition using new digital signature technology.

New, locally-developed, digital signature technology sits behind a major breakthrough for Nigeria’s Delta State government, which kicks off its “Fast Track 90” scheme – a new digital system for the acquisition of legal titles for landed property.

Historically an onerous process fraught with bottlenecks, bureaucracy and prone to fraud, the issuance of Certificate-of-Occupancy (C-of-O) to property owners in Delta State will, going forward, be fast tracked to 90 days and fraud-proofed – thanks to a system written by pbDigital, a division of South African customer communications firm PBSA.

Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, unveiled the Fast Track 90 scheme at the end of March, saying one of the biggest hindrances to investors was the high cost and delays associated with acquiring the legal titles to landed property in Delta State, Nigeria’s oil and agricultural producing state.

“Fast Track 90, an innovative policy of this administration designed to enhance ease of business in the state, has been initiated to overcome the bottlenecks that have become a recurring decimal in obtaining C-of-Os, it will take a maximum of ninety days for land owners to obtain their C-of-Os from the Ministry of Lands and Surveys and the new system is fast, transparent and in line with global best practices,” says Okowa.

The solution was positioned as having significant benefits for Delta State, including much faster turnaround times, considerably reduced C-of-O fees, security surety and, ultimately, increased investment in the state

Fast Track 90 relies on a software platform – recently developed specifically for the project – which connects to PBSA’s High Security Module Cloud Server infrastructure in South Africa. The solution is a hybrid, digital certificate issuing and verification solution for certificates that also need to be printed on paper.

Leon van der Merwe, head of pbDigital, explains: “Smatforms, a channel partner of PBSA in Nigeria, approached PBSA for a solution to digitise the paper-based issuing process for Delta State C-of-O documents. The solution-platform is built on pbDigital’s cloud technology that uses state-of-the-art cryptography to embed digital signatures in PDF documents. The system is an end-to-end solution for issuing these documents.”

The software system features four main fully integrated platforms:

* Certificate Creator – a platform to import the variable data of the citizen that appears on the certificate.

* PDF and QR Code Creator – a platform that produces the digital certificates, each with its own unique QR code for printing.

* Digital Signature Workflow – a platform that allows the certificates to go through a digital approval and sign-off process.

The printed certificate that is issued to the citizen contains an embedded QR code, explains Van der Merwe. “When the QR code is scanned with any generic, free QR code scanner using an online smart device, the original electronic document is opened from a secure cloud location. The electronic version of the document and the printed paper copy presented by the citizen can be compared and must have exactly the same content.

“The authenticity of the electronic document can also be verified by using a free version of Adobe PDF Reader to verify the signatures.

“The digital signatures on the document that were applied by the official authorities when the document was produced, carry X.509 personal cryptographic properties. During the verification process, these signature properties will have the verified personal information and Adobe AATL (Adobe Approved Trust List) certificate information embedded in each digital signature.”

Although developed for Delta State’s new C-of-O scheme, pbDigital’s digital certificate software can be used in any process involving the issuance of printed documents in need of future verification. “The software speeds up business processes, digitises workflow – creating a full audit trail – and completely eradicates fraud,” Van der Merwe adds.

Featured

Nigeria’s Delta State has launched the ‘Fast Track 90’ digital system designed for the acquisition of legal titles for landed property.

Historically an onerous process fraught with bottlenecks, bureaucracy and prone to fraud, the issuance of Certificate-of-Occupancy (C-of-O) to property owners in Delta State will, going forward, be fast tracked to 90 days and fraud-proofed, claims pbDigital, a division of South African customer communications firm PBSA, and the company that developed the technology behind the digital system.

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, unveiled the Fast Track 90 scheme at the end of March, saying one of the biggest hindrances to investors was the high cost and delays associated with acquiring the legal titles to landed property.

“Fast Track 90, an innovative policy of this administration designed to enhance ease of business in the state, has been initiated to overcome the bottlenecks that have become a recurring decimal in obtaining C-of-Os, it will take a maximum of ninety days for land owners to obtain their C-of-Os from the Ministry of Lands and Surveys and the new system is fast, transparent and in line with global best practices,” said Okowa.

Fast Track 90 relies on a software platform – recently developed specifically for the project – which connects to PBSA’s High Security Module Cloud Server infrastructure in South Africa. The solution is a hybrid, digital certificate issuing and verification solution for certificates that also need to be printed on paper.

Leon van der Merwe, head of pbDigital, explains: “Smatforms, a channel partner of PBSA in Nigeria, approached PBSA for a solution to digitise the paper-based issuing process for Delta State C-of-O documents. The solution-platform is built on pbDigital’s cloud technology that uses state-of-the-art cryptography to embed digital signatures in PDF documents. The system is an end-to-end solution for issuing these documents.”

Certificate verification

The printed certificate that is issued to the citizen contains an embedded QR code, explains Van der Merwe. “When the QR code is scanned with any generic, free QR code scanner using an online smart device, the original electronic document is opened from a secure cloud location. The electronic version of the document and the printed paper copy presented by the citizen can be compared and must have exactly the same content.

“The authenticity of the electronic document can also be verified by using a free version of Adobe PDF Reader to verify the signatures.

“The digital signatures on the document that were applied by the official authorities when the document was produced, carry X.509 personal cryptographic properties. During the verification process, these signature properties will have the verified personal information and Adobe AATL (Adobe Approved Trust List) certificate information embedded in each digital signature.”